Mail-box



PATBNTBD FEB. 23, 1904.

G. E. ROBISON.

Y MAIL B0X. APPLICATION IILED SEPT. 4, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

IN VENTOR,

A; @Hom/EY WUW'ESS Es .I

AN0.753,1 6s. Y PATBNTED FEB.'23,19045 G. E. RoBIsoN.

MAIL B0X.y

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4. 1903. N0 MODEL. l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l QL

WITNESSES s INTR 1H: miam'. Pacis co4. pnnmuvua. wAsHma-run e c Y UNrrED STATES Patented. ebruary Q. i

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE ELMER RoRrsoN, or LooxE, NEW YORK. i K

MAIL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,163, dated February 23, 1904.

o Application filed September 4, 1903. Serial No. 171,900. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE ELMER ROBI- soN, a citizen of the 'United States, and a resident of Locke, in the county of Cayuga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description. Y 1o This invention relates to the class of mailboxes which are designed chiefly for rural mail-delivery or for private use.l v Y The object of the invention isto provide a mail-box which shall be convenient and safe I 5 in its use and shal have its interior protected from dust, moisture, snow, and ice incident to the exposure of the box to the weather; and to that end the invention consists chiey of a mail-box which is mounted movably to zo and from its normal position on its support and is provided with a door which is concealed bythe normal position of the box; and the invention also consists in a novel construction and combination of the component parts of the '225 -mail-box, which has its door fastened in a horizontal position to the support of the box to allow the box to tilt into a vertical position and adord access to the interior thereof; and the invention, furthermore, consists in novel 3o auxiliary devices connected to the mail-box,

as hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the annexed drawings, Figure l is a side view of a mail-box embodying my invention shown in its normal position by full lines and in its tilted position by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a front view of the mail-box in its tilted and open position, and Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on line X X. a represents a post or other suitable sta- 40 tionary support on which the mail-box l) is mounted and to which it is pivotally secured in a suitable manner to allow the box to be tilted to and from its normal position on said support. I preferably hinge the box 5 toits support by means of a pivot-rod d, passing through ears u u, projecting from the bottom of the box, and through the ears o o, formed on the door c, which constitutes a portion of said bottom and is rigidly secured in a horizontal position to the support o.

The mail-box b is retained in its horizontal position and with the door c closed thereon by means of a spring-bolt e or analogous releasable catch sliding in a case 71;, attached to the door and engaging catch-plate e', attached 5 5 to the box. To allow the box b to be tilted, and thus open the door c without requiring manipulation of the bolt e,- I prefer to form the engaging portion of the catch-plate with a rounded or blunt projection, which allowsvthe bolt to slip over said projection by simply lifting the adjacent end of the box from the door c.

The box is preferably formed of galvanized iron or other suitable metal fastened-at its edges to the bottom plate e', formed of cast metal and with an opening f, which is ciosed by the door c when the box is in its normal position. l

'Io protect the interior of the box from 70 dust, water, sleet, and ice incident to the exposure of the box to the weather, I form the bottom plate a with a rabbet g around the jamb of the door c and place in the said rabbet a packing g', of rubber or other suitable mate- 7 5 rial, to render the door-jamb air and water tight.

rhe interior of the box b is divided into front and rear compartments z, and L by a partition 71, which is provided with a door j 80 to permit access to the rear compartment ft when the box is tilted to open the door c. The door j is provided with a suitable lock 7e' to retain the door in its closed position. Said lock is provided with a removable key, (not showin) which is intended'to be in possession of the proprietor of the box. Above the door j is another opening Zin the partition e', throughY which opening the mail is deposited into the rear compartment It by the mail-carrier. The opening Z is provided with a gate n, which is preferably suspended from the top of the partition e' to cause the gate to automatically close the opening Z by gravity of the gate. To the inner face of the door c isattached a suitable holder 0 for unstamped mail placed in the box by its proprietor. The said holder may consist of a bowed spring-plate attached at one end to the door c, as shown, and bearing with its opposite end on the mail-matter inserted under it.

p denotes a receptacle for payment for the required stamps. Inasmuch as the door is maintained in a horizontal position, the receptacle p may be in the form of a plate, as shown.

7 represents a signal to indicate the operative position of the box and call attention to the use thereof. This signal I prefer to attach to the free end of an arm s, extending from one end of the pivot-rod CZ, the opposite end of which is formed with a crank t, disposed to engage or abut against the box-support a when the mail-box is in its normal position. In the operation of tilting the mailbox a into its open position the aforesaid engagement of the crank t causes the signal-arm s to be swung into a position to indicate that the box has been opened.

n denotes a handle by which to tilt the box a as aforesaid. 1

The described mail-box is used in the following manner: When the mail-box is in its normal and closed position, it is placed hori- -zontally upon its support o and with the door c closed, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. The signal-arm s is then to be swung to a position to expose the signal r. Vhenthe mailcarrier wishes to deliver mail into said box, he tilts the box into a vertical position from the stationary door c. In this movement of the box the engagement of the crank t with the support ce causes the signal-arm s to be swung to a position to conceal the signal. The mailcarrier passes the mail through the opening VZ in the partition z' and drops it into the rear compartment 71, and collects the mail-matter he may iind in the front compartment it, and in case he finds in the holder o unstamped mail-matter and in the receptacle 2J payment for the required stamp he collects the said mail-matter and payment and then tilts the box down to its horizontal and closed position and throws the signal-arm s over to expose the signal r.

To collect the mail delivered by the mailcarrier, the proprietor of the box tilts the said box into a vertical and open position, as hereinbefore described. Then by means of the key in his possession he unlocks the door j' and extracts the delivered mail from the rear compartment la', then closes and locks the door mal position he swings the arm s to a position l to expose the signal 1'.

What I claim as my invention isl. The combination of astationary support, a door rigidly secured in a horizontal position on said support, and the mail-box pivotally connected to said door as set forth.

2. The combination of a stationary support, a door fastened in a horizontal position to said support, the mail-box vpivotally connected to said door, and a signal adjustably connected to the box-support as set forth.

3. The combination of a mail-box having its door fastened in horizontal position to the support of the box and hinged to the box by a pivotrod formed at one end with acrank engaging the box-support during the tilting of the box from its door, an arm extending from the opposite end of the pivot-rod, and a signal attached to said arm as set forth.

4. A mail-box having its door fastened in horizontal position to the support of the box and hinged to the box to allow it to tilt vertically from the door, a rabbeted door-jamb on the box, and a packing in said door-jamb as set forth and shown.

5. The combination of a stationary support,

a door fastened horizontally to said support, a

holder for unstamped mail, and a pay-receptacle secured to the top of said door, and the mail-box hinged to the door and housing said holder and receptacle as set forth. l

6. The combination of a stationary support, a door fastened horizontally to said support, the mail-box hinged to said door, a partition dividing the box into front and rear compartments and provided with a mail-depositing opening leading to the rear compartment, and a door in said partition provided with a lock and a removable key as set forth.

GEORGE ELMER ROBISON. [L s.]

Witnesses:

A. G. MoINTosH, CHAS. J. HEWITT. 

